Excalibur

Excalibur (1981)

67 mistakes

(3 votes)

Visible crew/equipment: After Arthur drinks from the Grail and goes to visit Gwinevere at the convent and she gives him the sword back, he paces around her chamber- you can clearly see the film crew reflected in his armor.

Audio problem: When Uther takes the baby from Igrayne and gives it to Merlin, Igrayne's screaming and whimpering is not consistent with her mouth movements.

Continuity mistake: After the fight Lancelot lies dying and King Arthur says to Merlin, "Bring him back, whenever the cost". Guinevere lifts Lancelot's left hand and kisses it but in the next shot both of her hands are on his wound. (01:20:20)

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Continuity mistake: At the siege of Leondegrance's castle, Arthur gives Uryens Excalibur and asks him to knight him with it. Arthur has been out of the water for a few minutes but as he is being knighted his hair is dripping wet again and a large area of blood appears on his neck. (00:41:10)

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Continuity mistake: Mordred brings Perceval to his mother Morgana and we see the metal pendants hanging from her crown are almost motionless. In the next close-up shot of her holding Mordred the pendants are all moving. (01:40:50)

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Continuity mistake: Perceval throws Excalibur into the lake and we see that it's full of blood as it flies through the air, but as the "Lady of the Lake" catches it there's no blood on it. Then as she lowers it into the water there's blood on it again. (02:16:30)

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Continuity mistake: As King Arthur addresses the Knights of the Round Table he says, "Only the Grail can restore leaf and flower" and Perceval and the other nights are facing him. In the next shot Perceval and the knight to the left of him are facing forward with only their heads turned towards Arthur. (01:35:30)

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Continuity mistake: Arthur instructs Perceval to, "Take Excalibur, find a pool of calm water, throw the sword into it". No one ever removed the spear that Mordred thrust through his chest but now as Arthur dies it's gone. (02:13:25)

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Continuity mistake: After the final battle Mordred thrusts a spear through his father Arthur's chest. It goes totally through him but if only the very tip has blood on it. Later on in the scene it's entirely bloody. (02:12:40)

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Continuity mistake: King Arthur asks Merlin where evil is in his kingdom and he replies, "Always where you never expect it, always". In the next shot Morgana walks back to her seat at the table as Gawain blurts out, "I know where" but then two shots later we see her back at the wall where she was speaking to Merlin. (01:10:20)

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Continuity mistake: Igrayne Says, "My lord" as Uther takes her into his arms. At first she holds him with her right hand around his waist but in the next shot her right hand is on his arm. (00:14:25)

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Other mistake: When Arthur and all his knights assemble on hilltop at night and Merlin tells them all not to forget where the Round Table started, you can see the crew's spotlights reflected on the back of some of the knights' armour.

Audio problem: As he chases Merlin into the wilderness, Uther takes Excalibur and trusts it into the stone. The battle didn't take place there, but if you look at the mud around the stone there are many footprints from the crew members' feet. (00:22:15)

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Continuity mistake: Uther wants Merlin to get Igrayne for him to sleep with and they both climb to the top of a hill so that Merlin can cast a spell on her. Merlin says, "Annal Nathrach" with his scepter held high in the air but in the next shot the scepter is at eye level. (00:10:00)

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Continuity mistake: As Morgana and Merlin speak, the position of the vial that she's wearing changes between shots. In the shots where we see Merlin's face a gold spec (many are included as decorations in the veil) is next to her cheek. In the shots where we see Morgana's face the gold spec moves and is next to her right temple. (01:01:45)

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Continuity mistake: In a long shot, Mordred brings Perceval to Morgana and she says as she holds him, "My lovely, clever boy". The next shot is a close-up and the blankets covering her throne are entirely different. (01:40:50)

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Revealing mistake: Morgana has smoke coming out of her mouth as she recites "The Charm of Making". If you look closely the smoke is being expelled from a tube next to her left cheek that at times is not even close to her mouth. (02:06:00)

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Continuity mistake: King Arthur's second horseman carries three extra jousting sticks as they ride to the far end of the field preparing for the joust. After the first charge Lancelot says, "You joust well, Sir, I offer you another lance" and King Arthur rides back to his second horseman who now only has one jousting stick. (00:48:15)

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Continuity mistake: During the knight's feast at the round table Morgana and Merlin go off to chat and he says to her, "I've shown you too much already". We see three dogs (one lying down and two standing) bathed in a green light behind his head. Two seconds later we see this spot again and there are two dogs standing in natural light. (01:09:30)

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Arthur: Thanks be to God you're alive.
Lancelot: I, the best Knight in the world bested! This is a great day! For my search is over, my King. Make me your champion.
Arthur: But your life and lands are far from here.
Lancelot: I gave up my castle and my lands. This is my domain. Within this metal skin. And I pledge all that I still own. Muscle, bone, blood and the heart that pumps it.
Arthur: And a great heart it is. Sir Lancelot, you will be my champion.

More quotes from Excalibur

Trivia: Producer/screenwriter/director John Boorman deliberately chose renowned stage actors Nicol Williamson and Helen Mirren to play the sorcerer Merlin and the sorceress Morgana, knowing very well that Williamson and Mirren hated each other in real life (because of a disastrous stage production of Macbeth they worked on, years earlier). Boorman anticipated real friction, tension and anger between the two actors, which was the effect he wanted onscreen. On the contrary, the experience of working together in "Excalibur" completely changed Nicol Williamson and Helen Mirren into the best of friends.

Charles Austin Miller

More trivia for Excalibur

Question: At the very end, Arthur's body is being carried away on a barge, with three women standing above him. Are those three women the fates?

Answer: They were the Goddesses of Avalon. A group of women who each have a specific magical power. They were the makers of Excalibur, healed King Arthur's wounds from his first battle and took him to his final resting place, readying him for the day he would be needed again.

Most Arthurian myths attribute elves as making "Excalibur", and also "Clarent," King Arthur's other magical sword.

raywest

Answer: Or possibly they were attendants of Arthur, who would set the ship on fire, then have the option to die with their king, or to try to swim to shore. The Vikings did stuff like that. Why not imagine that the Brits did too?

Answer: Not the fates, but enchantress fairies. The Lady of Lake, who took back Excalibur at the end, was such a fairy.

raywest

More questions & answers from Excalibur

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